Path of sunshine
by vixentwist
Summary: Sunny has to survive her life in her chosen faction. Will she find the home she's looking for? will she ever belong there? A Divergent story, if there was no war, one year after the end if the first book.
1. Chapter 1

Hi, so this is my first published fan-fiction, so I'm a bit nervous. Its set a year after the end of divergent if there was no war. (the resolution of that will be explained later). It follows Sunny at 16 year old girl from Amity, from the end of her aptitude test. Enjoy.

Chapter 1:

'Dauntless.'

The word rings in my head, like a gunshot. I heard a gunshot only once, the guards by our farm had fired at a flock of birds above our heads. The people around me screamed and fell to ground, some sobbing in terror, but not me. The sound rippled through my brain, making every fibre of my body tingle. I was scared, but at the same time, I wasn't. It felt right, it felt unknown. It felt like this.

This. This word. Dauntless. I'd watched them guard the fence all my life, I'd watch them jump off the train every morning at school. I'd dreamed about running with them, but never had I imagined I could be one of them.

I'm Amity, I tell myself. There must have been a mistake. But I knew there wasn't. Somebody from Amity would have chosen the cheese, not the knife; a true Amity would have run from danger not towards it. I look at my hands for any signs of blood. I was going to run from the dog, but something told me to choose the knife and then... I butchered it. The Abnegation lady who was controlling my Aptitude test smiles at me.

'Do you feel alright?' she asks.

No, I want to say, to scream at her. I've just betrayed every value my faction holds dear. I was violent when I should have peaceful, angry when I should have calm, cruel when I should have been kind. Instead, I just nod my head and she helps me out of the chair. I leave the room and head back to the cafeteria. I sit down at the Amity table and wait. Unfortunately, I was one of the first people called, so now I have to sit here listening to other members of the faction play a rhyming game, laughing and joking. Yesterday I would have joined them. Heck, half an hour I would have joined them, but not now. My eyes drift over the Dauntless table. Everyone In Amity can dress how they please as long as the colours red and yellow are represented. But the variety in the Dauntless' appearance is striking. The coloured hair and piercings, I even spot a few tattoos. To the rest of the factions Dauntless appears to have the most freedom, but living on the Amity farms has shown me that's not true.

They are the warrior faction, disciplined fighters and I know the guards didn't make it to the top 5 in training. I over hear them talking sometimes, about training. Only parts like: 'jump' and 'train', or 'fear', 'knives', and more recently 'serum', 'Tris', 'Abnegation'. I wonder who this Tris is. If I choose Dauntless tomorrow, then I guess I'll find out. But choosing them means leaving my family behind. Transfers to Amity from other factions are relatively common, by transfer standards, but from Amity to other factions... it's been done, but it's rare. Not as rare as Abnegation transfers but still uncommon. I want to be home right now, or in fields, or in the big tree by my house. I want to be where my family is. But is there where I belong? The test told me I was Dauntless.

Minuets pass, then hours. Finally Jeanine Matthews, steps forward and announces the everyone can leave. The Dauntless practically run out of the building, Candor and Erudite fill out after them, followed by us. Abnegation remains until last. They always remain till the last. As the bus makes its way to the edge of the city, I ponder my choices. There are three. Tomorrow I can choose Amity and remain with my parents, live peaceful life in the fields, maybe become an artist, like my mother. Two: I choose another faction, not Amity but something else, like Abnegation. They always look so calm and serene whenever I see them on the streets. Or three, I choose Dauntless, abandon not just my family, but all of traits that they value. Remake myself the way I choose to. The way I want to. I hear the train tracks creek above me. I know that the Dauntless will be heading back now that schools over. Will I be joining them tomorrow? Will I be getting a train and finally learn where they live? Will I be getting tattoos and dying my hair?

Then It hits me, whatever path I choose I have to pass initiation in order to become a member. I know that I could pass in Amity and with difficulty in Abnegation, but Dauntless? I know that most people fail and those ranked the lowest have to guard the fence by our farms. I can't decide what's worse, failing initiation and having to be factionless or passing and having to watch my previous faction laugh and joke around me, while I guard them. The bus shudders to a holt. Amity are the only people remaining, everyone else having gotten off in the city. As we pass through the gate, I find myself staring at the guard letting us through. She is well built, with bright pink hair, and ring through her lower lip. She wears the same expression I have seen all the guards wear. Blank. Strong. Fierce. I know my little sisters are scared of them, and even my brothers aren't comfortable around them. Simeon calls them rebels, whenever he comes to visit us. As we pass through the gate to the Amity farms, I remember his wedding. Rosie, his wife, and my brother laughed and danced with everyone watching them, me included. It felt good, but my brother chose Amity. He knew where I belonged. So do I but do I have the guts to leave?

My house smells like freshly baked bread and fresh grass and my father's herbal remedies. It always smells like this. I can't leave, I tell myself. I head to the kitchen window and stare out of it. The sky is a cloudless blue, the farms a lush green. The honeysuckle my mother planted is growing up the side of the house. I could be happy here. It is safe, it is peaceful. _Its is mundane. It is boring._ I ignore the voice in my head. I belong here. I should belong here. I begin preparing dinner. _Dauntless, or Amity. Peace or war, home, or away. Am I Sunny or someone else. _I laugh to myself at that one. Sunny, the girl named after sunshine, choosing the dark path of Dauntless. My brain continues to argue with itself until my chorus of siblings run in. Only the older four, the younger ones will be with my parents in the fields. They range in age from 14 to 5. Summer, the oldest, tries to take a piece of bread from the board Im cutting it on. I tap her hand away.

'So, how did the test go?'

'Im not allowed to talk about it, you know that.' I turn to her. 'How was your faction history test?' she pulls a face. I laugh.

My next sister, Faith, pipes up. 'She got the worst mark in the class.' Faith's not my biological sister. Her and her sister, Hope, came to live with us when their parents died in an accident. I was quite young but I still remember the shock waves it sent trough the Amity community. I can only imagine the shockwaves my departure would cause. _Then it has to be for the right reasons._ At that moment, I rule out any other faction than Amity or Dauntless. Any other choice would just be wrong.

'Most of my class is made up Erudite's. They know everything!' Summer retorts.

'Hey' I lay a hand on her shoulder. 'The Erudite children do not know everything. And do not begrudge them the honour of doing well in test. It is what their faction value, and it will make their parents proud.' I start getting out the dishes. 'Jonas, William, please lay the table.'

'But I did it last night and Will the night before.' Jonas moans at me.

Something inside me snaps. I wasn't mad before, but his comment grates at me more than usual. Jonas and William are only 11, but they take for granted that everyone will be nice to them, peaceful and calming. Amity.

'Just DO AS YOUR TOLD' I scream at them. The shock and hurt on both their faces is palpable. Summer and Faith just look at me stunned. 'Im sorry...' I start, and blot for the stairs.

I lay face down on my bed sobbing. I don't know how long I lie there. Might have been 10 minutes, might have been an hour. But eventually my mother comes in. She doesn't say anything. She sits down next to me. My sobs slowly stop. She holds something in her hand. At first I think its bread, laced with peace serum. I hold out my hand. She smiles and shakes her head. It sit up. 'I didn't mean to shout at Jonas. I really didn't. I just...' I falter for words.

'I know .' she replies. Another smile. 'The day I took my test, I threw a lamp across the floor of my parents living room.'

I have never met my grandparents. My mother transferred from Candor, my father from Erudite. I am descended from the honest and intelligent, raised by the kind, why did I have to get violent faction. The thought brings new tears to my eyes. My mother opens her arms and i fall into them. She smoothes my hair, they way she did when I was little.

'I take it you didn't get Amity' she whispers into my ear. I don't need to reply to her, my tears are all the answer she needs. She pulls my face up with her hands and stares into my eyes. My mother's eyes are hazel, a deep brown flecked with spots of green. I have my father's eyes, pale blue. Sometimes there almost grey.

'Sunny, the choosing ceremony tomorrow is big day. You will choose where you spend the rest of your life. Whether that's with us' she pauses, 'our with another faction. It doesn't matter to us. We will love you, no matter what you choose. I made you something.' She pulls her hands away and opens them. Inside is a pendant, simply decorated with leaves. She pulls at its sides, and it opens. I gasp. It's not a pendent, but a locket. We learnt about them in history, they are very rarely seen nowadays. The picture inside is not of a person as would have suspected, but of a tree. The Amity tree at first glance, but as I look closer, I see that the leaves aren't red but brown. And the base is much smaller than the top. Its our tree. The tree that's outside our house, the tree that my siblings and I climb, the tree that I see from my bedroom window, the tree of our family. I look at my mother.

'My mother gave this to me the day of my choosing ceremony. She had no idea that I wouldn't be returning. Otherwise I doubt she would have let me wear it. Back then it showed a picture of scales in perfect balance. But I thought this would be nicer.' She claps the locket shut and into my hands. 'So you can pass it onto your daughter. What every faction she's born into.' She kisses my forehead and grabs my hand. 'Come on, Summer's made dinner'.

We head down stairs and I pull my brothers into a hug. They smile. All anger forgotten, forgiven. We sit around the table and pass food to each other so that each member is served. Flora, my youngest sister, is mashing her potatoes into mush with her spoon, splattering Ash and Simeon. He and Rosie, and their new daughter, Beth, are sharing dinner with us tonight. As I watch each member of my family, I know that tomorrow I have to choose to leave them or to stay. And leaving them might mean my death.


	2. Chapter 2

#disclaimer: As this story progresses, more of the world of Divergent will appear, so, I do not own the world of Divergent, any of the characters or places within it, all rights belong to Veronica Roth.

Sorry this one's a bit longer than chapter one. I just kept writing! Hope you enjoy it.

Chapter 2:

I awake the morning of the choosing ceremony with the light streaming through my window. It is 6am. You have to wake up early in Amity, nature waits for no one, my father says. I dress with more care than usual; a red skirt and a yellow blouse nipped in at the waist. I look at myself in the mirror. The perfect Amity daughter. I hear a knock at the door. Summer enters. She smiles at me and holds up the hairbrush in her hand. Mom will brush the hair of my other siblings, but Summer and I always do each others. I brush her hair smooth and begin to plait it down her back, in her usual style, but she stops me.

'No' she says, 'today is day of celebration.' She smiles and moves so that she is standing behind me. As the brush slides through my hair with careful movements, a sinking feeling builds in my stomach. She doesn't know. She thinks Im going to choose Amity. _I am going to choose Amity. But that wouldn't be the right choice. _I try to ignore the conflict firing in my brain. As she finishes, she squeezes my shoulder. 'Mom says that you don't have to work this morning. And she made your favourite for breakfast.' She laughs. 'Come on.'

The oat cakes were good. Half way through my third one, my father gets up and the rest of my family do the same. He places a hand on my head and says 'We'll see you later, think wisely.' Everyone files out, all smiles and laughter. It is only my mother and I left. I look at her, expecting her to leave as well. She doesn't. I frown.

'I plan on spending the next few hours with my daughter.'

'But the harvest...'

'Will be collected whether I am there are not.'

My mother has never been one to hold back what she thinks, not at home any way, a remnant of her Candor roots.

'Have you made your choice? She sits down in front of me.

I shake my head and she takes my hand.

'So, what do you want to do?'

I think for a moment.

'Paint' I say.

Only Amity are artists. The others deem it a waste of time. My mother and I spend the next few hours painting and talking. Not about anything important, but idle conversations. She looks at the clock, and says 'We'll need to be leaving soon. Are you ready?'

'Not yet.' I stand up and head upstairs. I grab the locket from my dresser and look around my room. This isn't goodbye. _Isn't it?_

Amity are hosting this year's choosing ceremony, so everyone looks smarter than usual. We pass through the gate and catch the bus that will take us into the city. I spot a train and my pulse starts to race and my palms get sweaty. I can't do this. Everything else becomes a blur. Getting off the bus, the elevator to the ceremony, my parents hugging me, all smiles, standing next to an Abnegation girl, small for her age, all a haze of images and sounds. And then, Joanna takes the stand in the center of the room and hush falls over the room. She begins to talk at about the faction system and its importance within its society. My focus suddenly snaps back. 'Initiates' Joanna continues. 'Today you choose where you will belong. You choose the faction that will make you into members of society. Faction before blood.' Everyone dutifully repeats the motto. 'Choose Candor, the honest,' No.' Erudite, intelligent,' No. 'Abnegation, the selfless,' No. 'Amity, the peaceful,' No. The fact that my first thought was no disturbs me. I am going to pick Amity. My test had to be a mistake. 'Or Dauntless, the brave. Of course this system is not without fault. Nearly one year ago, some select members of Erudite tried to obtain power over the government, and remove Abnegation by force.' A murmur goes through the crowd. 'Thankfully, this plot was discovered stopped before any violent action could be taken.' So this is why Jeanine Matthews was removed as head of Erudite, and if violent action was being planned then Dauntless must have been involved. I wonder if this is why the guards kept mentioning the word Tris.

'Let's begin.'

I will be one of the last called. It takes a lifetime, but at last, I hear 'Sunny Ardeni' and I step forward. I stand in front of the bowls and take the knife from Joanna's hand. All the worry, all the conflict I've felt leads up to this moment. I look at the Dauntless coals on my left and the Amity earth on my right. I squeeze my eyes shut. I try to clear my mind. And it appears. The thrill I felt when I killed the dog in the aptitude test, the power of running as fast as a can, the strength in holding the knife. I could never do that in Amity. I drag the knife quickly across my palm and, before I can change my mind, place it over the lit coals. My blood falls. It sizzles. I have chosen Dauntless.

I step off the platform to the roars of the Dauntless. Someone clasps my shoulder, another slaps my arm. I make to the back of the hall, where that other initiates stand. I glance towards the rows of Amity. The shock on their faces is evident. I glimpse my parents. My mother is holding onto my father's arm, he sits still as if he were made from stone. I haven't just abandoned them. I've left them for opposing faction. I don't think this is what my Mom thought I was going to choose, so it must be even more of a shock for my father. The last few names are called, and then it's over. The Dauntless leave first. We start to file out of the room, and I can't bring myself to look back. _I choose this, now I have to make it. _I can't let myself become a guard at the fence. It would be too painful. By the time, we reach the stairs we are running. Hundreds of feet pounding, whoops and shouts, all at once. I join in. We burst out of the doors of hub and sprint for the train tracks. My skirt blows behind me and my locket jumps up and down against my chest. To my left I catch a flash of bright blonde. I turn to see a girl with hair almost down to her waist, running beside me. She wears the black and white of Candor. Another transfer. We stop running as we reach the train tracks. I know what is about to happen. I've watched the Dauntless do this a hundred time after school, we have to jump on the train. I look at the other transfers next to me. Only one of them is small, the others easily tower over me, but from the look on some of their faces, they have no idea what's going to happen now. I turn to reassure the blonde girl next me, but the look of revulsion she gives me takes me back.

'What the hell do you want Amity?'

I open my mouth to reply when I hear the train horn blare. Instead I just smile at her and start running in the other direction. I hear the train approaching and the other transfers shouting as they realize what's going on, but by that time I'm well ahead of them. I look around; I'm running with the Dauntless born initiates. The first few cars fly past and the people around me start pulling themselves into the car. I reach out and grab the handle. The force of it makes my arms feel like there being ripped out of their sockets, but I lurch to the side and Im in. I stand with my back to the wall, breathing heavily. The Dauntless around me are giving me strange looks. A boy with black hair and an ear piercing comes over to me.

'What are you doing here?'

I try to think of what to say. But apologies are the only thing that comes to mind. Years of avoiding conflict have not prepared me for anything like this. So I don't think.

'Im riding a train. You?'

The boy grins and shakes my hand. 'Im Cordie'

'Im...uh' I stop myself from saying my name. Sunny isn't a name that belongs in Dauntless. But what else can I call myself.

'Well, when you work out your name, let me know.' He moves away to his friends in the corner of the car.' I look around. I only see Dauntless, no transfers.

'Hey, where are the other transfers?' I ask to no one in particular. A girl near me turns around. She looks like something out of the old fairy stories my mother used to tell me as a child. Except she didn't look like the princess, she looked like the villain. Jet black hair cut in a short bob, her nose studded with a black gem, hooded black eyes.

'In the other cars behind us. You should have gotten on with them Pansy. You don't belong with us.'

I know that Pansy is slang used for Amity but its hasn't been used to describe me before. It stings.

'Get ready to jump!' someone shouts. I'd figured that we'd have to jump of the train but not while its moving, and not this high up. Brick and glass buildings fly beneath us and then I see the rooftop and black figures jumping onto it. People from my car start lining up and throwing themselves out the open door. I follow the girl with black hair. _I'll show you who belongs here._ She leaves and I follow. For a moment Im flying through the air and then I see the ground coming towards me. I brace for the impact and roll as I hit the hard ground. I stand up on my feet, unscratched. The boy who spoke to me on the train, stares at me with awe.

'Nice jump' he says. I smile, and look behind me. The girl who taunted me, is standing up slowly, her arms and face clearly marked. We lock eyes. I'll have to watch that one. I have always been a suspicious person, even if living in Amity forced me to hide it. Here it would be a useful skill. When everyone is off the train we head toward three men standing near a ledge. The tallest of three is well built, with a serve looking face, and piercings above his eyebrow.

'Welcome. Well done for not dying. This' he points behind him, 'is the entrance to Dauntless. As always we offer the opportunity to jump first, to our new initiates.'

'Is there water the bottom?' asks one of the Erudite boys.

Eric mutters something under his breath. 'Well, jump and find out.' Is his answer. No one moves. I look around. I can't be the only one who wants to jump, but even the Dauntless born don't move.

'Me' I say as I step forward.

'A pansy. Really?' the man says as I stand up on the ledge. The wind is strong and it tugs at my clothes. I turn to look at him.

'Im no pasny' I say. And then I jump.

Ever since I was small, I've always loved climbing. Once I fell from the tree outside my house, everything went into slow motion and I could feel the wind around me. It was beautiful and exciting; landing was the only part that hurt. This fall was much larger, but it felt the same. Instead of hitting water or the ground, I land in a net. I bounce a few times before settling down. I laugh and cheer into the air. The net moves sideways and man's face appears, he grabs my sides and helps me down onto solid ground.

'Name?' he asks. I face the same problem as before. My name. He sighs. 'Pick a new one if you want, but make it good, you can't choose again.' I help my mother paint a bird once. Not a real one but a myth. As she painted she told me that this bird could never die because once its life had ended, it rose again from fire and ashes into a new bird. The Phoenix. The bird the colours of the sun.

'Phoenix. My name's Phoenix.'

'Tris make the announcement.'

My head turns to see a small woman, dressed in Dauntless black. Her hair is blonde, but tied back into a tight ponytail. I spot a tattoo of birds on her shoulder. So this is Tris. I was expecting someone taller, more imposing. But there is something about her, something memorable and intimating. I do not want to get on the wrong side of her, or the man in front of me.

'First jumper: Phoenix!' she shouts.

'Welcome to Dauntless.'


End file.
